Describing the CPO as a "legalised land grab", he claims several homes declared unfit for human habitation could easily be brought back to a habitable condition and private investment in the vicinity of the clearance zone is suffering in the meantime.

Mike said: "They're paying all this money for them to be knocked down and are unsettling the tenants. Some of them have lived there for 20 years.

"Putting it under CPO has stopped private investors continuing to improve the area. They seem to have blinkers on and gone down the road of knocking houses down, which is going to remove low cost housing."

But Coun Paul Murphy said: "I do not believe that we owe private landlords in the North Manchester area a jot. It's not something that's done very quickly as we have to behave in a rational and civilised manner. The housing department cannot win in these circumstances."